Found it. Ok:
I think that the short-term/new arrivals expat community is more active. I guess they're more interested in going to meet-ups, learning Spanish, hitting up expat bars, etc. I find that longer-term expats tend to have more limited circles mainly based on interests, hobbies, etc (mainly because expats tend to leave after a couple of years...it sucks losing friends so often!). Having said that though, I'm sure if you go to places like sugar, beerlingual, etc, you'll have no problem meeting expat buddies (they just might not stick around for long!).
- I don't think that the community is big enough to really be recognized as particularly relevant by most Argentines (certainly not as a cultural force!). Again, this might be because most expats tend not to stay here more than a couple of years. There does seem to be more buzz surrounding expat chefs over the past couple of years. I think that's probably where they've (we've) had the biggest impact. There are a lot of expat writers, artists, photographers, etc...but I don't think any of them (us) have gained any great degree of recognition.
- The short-termers/newer expats tend to gravitate towards Palermo or San Telmo. The long termers are all over the place.
- I agree with the fuccolini that your budget estimations are a bit out of whack. Rentals have increased quite significantly for locals and for tourists even more so(20-40%). Your estimates for parilla, beer, wine, choripan, are between 30-50% lower than the current reality (inflation has hit us hard over the past 18 months).
- Advice - Don't sign a dollar lease (without working out something concrete in pesos)! Getting dollars here is nigh-on impossible and a lot of expats are being stung with black/blue market rates
